Iraq publishes 2018 budget in its official gazette

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq on Tuesday gave its final confirmation of its divisive 2018 budget by publishing it in the official gazette, as announced by the country’s justice ministry.

The ministry said the newest issue of the official gazette includes the federal budget for 2018.

Iraq’s President Fuad Masum ordered last Thursday to officially publish the budget, ending weeks of political grappling over the document.

Last month, Masum has rejected the budget bill, and ordered it back to the parliament, citing several constitutional and legal violations in the document.

The Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the USD88 billion draft on March 3rd amid a boycott from Kurdistan Region representatives who objected to reducing the region’s share of allocations from 17% to slightly above 12%.

Relations between Kurdistan and the Iraqi government deteriorated after a referendum Kurdistan held in September, in which a majority voted for secession from Iraq.